Challenges the belief that high stakes tests are the keystone of students' educational attainment, describing a series of exploratory workshops, developed in reaction to this issue, in which teachers (as essential preparation for developing students' curiosity) deepened their understanding of the principles of physics by playing with light. Such…

Describes a process-oriented approach to teaching searching skills for computer-based resources that was developed at the New York University library. A syllabus based on DIALOG's Classmate Program is explained, and the use of active learning theory to help restrict results is described. (LRW)

Introduces a study that identifies which learning styles are prevalent in biology majors. Uses the findings of the study to design a microbiology course. Presents activities that address the different learning styles. Uses self-assessment and portfolios for student evaluation. Includes recommendations for instructional improvement. (Contains 19…

Describes the "Reading and Writing for Critical Thinking Project" which has now sent more than 70 volunteer teacher educators into 20 countries across Central Europe and Central Asia to help teachers to try out methods that foster active learning and critical thinking. Discusses support for the project, teaching strategies introduced,…

Investigates the differences in academic achievement and performance for two groups of at-risk students in large and small group instructional settings when activity-based informal collaboration is applied as a teaching method. Includes 40 references. (YDS)

Argues that problems with teaching the Talmud are methodological not didactic. Talmudic methodology is reviewed and summarized. Suggests a new curriculum based on four curricular stations from study of Mishnah to study of the Talmudic superstructure. Argues that the new method allows students to be active participants in the learning process. (DSK)

Reviews the series of books, "The Geography Discipline Network Guides on Teaching, Learning, and Assessment," produced by the Geography Discipline Network. Reveals two strengths of the series: (1) it provides practical guidelines on improving traditional teaching strategies; and (2) it promotes active learning. Considers the potential…

Introductory biology students can be overwhelmed by the diversity of life. By focusing on learning characteristics of individual taxa, they often lose and miss the larger perspective--that all taxa are connected through evolution, resulting in the Tree of Life. In this article, the authors present an exercise that helps students develop an…

This paper represents a conversation between a high school science teacher and a university researcher as they found common ground in the theory and experiences of designing powerful learning experiences. The teacher describes an instructional unit in which students designed a complex, interactive display showing what life may have been like…

In an effort to make reading more visible and find out what goes on in the minds of adolescent readers, the author led a group of seventh-grade students in creating Symbolic Reading Inventories. The students created "snapshot" scenes from the books they were reading and placed themselves, as readers, in or around the picture. Reading is a complex…

The findings reported in this article form part of a wider comparative research project investigating the active learning of teachers and of pupils in the educational practices of eight countries. This article aims to describe what a small rural school in Finland understands by active learning. Data is presented from a qualitative research case…

Constructivist education, based on the theories of Piaget and Vygotsky, advocates an approach to curriculum and teaching that is student centered, inquiry based, integrated and intellectually engaging. One teaching strategy that provides such an experience is the Project Approach, reflective of the pedagogy of John Dewey and introduced as a model…

The context for this paper is an on-going research project that sets out to examine the use of educational drama in the teaching of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) in the upper stages of primary school. The drama lessons link with some of the key aims in ESD, with a particular locus in the Scottish education system. As 2005-15 has been…

The objective of this study was to investigate the impact of course design on both actual and self-reported student outcomes. The authors examined data gathered from three courses, each with a different design, during one semester at a major university in the Southwest. One passive design was used and was patterned after the traditional method of…

With genomics well established in modern molecular biology, recent studies have sought to further the discipline by integrating complementary methodologies into a holistic depiction of the molecular mechanisms underpinning cell function. This genomic subdiscipline, loosely termed "systems biology," presents the biology educator with both…